Mule spinning device



June 1943- R. A. GARD MULE SPINNING DEVICE Filed Feb. 15, 1946 v Mafia342%? m @TW Patented June 1, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in mule spinning machines and hasparticular reference to improved means and method of controlling thewinding of the twisted yarn on the bobbins.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide novel meansand method of controlling the winding of the yarn on the bobbins wherebythe said yarn may be more tightly wound without danger of breakage.

Another object is to provide novel means and method of increasingtension on the yarn while it is being wound onto the bobbins and socontrolling the introduction of said increased tension as to avoiddirecting breaking strain on the yarn during said winding.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described in theform of a separate attachment readily adaptable for use withconventional mule spinning machines.

Another object is to so relate the device with the operating mechanismof a mule spinning machine as to cause said device to operate only afterthe backing oli operation.

Another object is to enable more yarn to be wound on the bobbin withoutany material increase in the diameter or resultant size of the filledbobbin.

Another object is to provide simple and efficient means foraccomplishing the above results while decreasing the amount of doifingand changing of the bobbins during the spinning operation and therebygreatly increasing the output of the mule spinning.

Another object is to provide simple, efiicient and economical means andmethod of controlling the winding of the yarn n the bobbins during mulespinning whereby the yarn on the resultant filled bobbin will be tightlywound, will permit a much greater amount of yarn to be wound on a singlebobbin, will result in less tendency of the resultant yarn to slide onthe bobbin, will permit much longer intervals of weaving without changeof bobbin in the shuttle, will cause the windings of the yarn on thebobbins to have less tendency to become knotted during the weavingoperation and therefore will greatly decrease the filling breakage, willresult in less wastage of yarn due to the decreased requirement ofbobbin replacement in the shuttle and the waste of yarn inherently lostwith each change of bobbin and which in general will not only be a greattime saver but will also decrease cost and greatly increase output bothas to mule spinning and weaving.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following descrip- 2 tion taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction, arrangement of parts and methods shown anddescribed without departing from the spirit of the invention asexpressed in the accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to belimited to the exact details of construction, arrangement of parts andsteps of the method shown and described as the forms herein given areonly by way of illustration.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a fragmentary diagrammatic perspective view showing therelation of the device of the present invention with the mule spinningmachine;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view showing the relation which parts of thedevice assume during the operation of the mule spinning machine;

Fig. III is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form ofthe device embodying the invention;

Fig. IV is a front view of the device illustrated in Fig. III; and

Fig. V is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the raisedand lowered positions of the guide and faller wires.

Prior to the present invention, the only means for introducing tensionon the yarn during the winding operation of a mule spinning machine wasthe conventional weight arrangement. The gravital pull of such weightswhich causes the tension faller wire to introduce tension on the twistedyarn during the backing off and winding operation of the machine isbrought into play immediately when the reversed rotary movement isdirected to the bobbins and just prior to the inward movement of thecarriage.

Due to the above conventional arrangement, the amount of weight which itis possible to use without danger of causing the yarn to break duringthe backing off operation is limited to such an extent that the properamount of tension cannot be directed to the twisted yarn during thewinding operation with the result that, in the past, the yarn was veryloosely wound on the bobbins. This not only allowed the yarn to slide onthe bobbins and the windings to become snarled with each other duringsubsequent handling but also caused considerable knotting and breakingof the fillings during the weaving operation. Only a restricted amountof yarn could be wound on the bobbins and the operator was required. toperform several doifing operations during a work day with a result thatconsiderable time was lost in removing the filled bobbins and replacingthem during the spinning operation.

Such loosely wound bobbins also required frequent replacement of spentbobbins during the weaving operation and caused considerable loss ofyarn due to wastage of the yarn remaining on each spent bobbin. Thepresent invention overcomes all of the above diificulties in that itpermits the twisted yarn to bemore tightly wound on the=bobbins"during':theispinning {operation, greatly reduces'the' loss of-tim due todofling, enables the yarn to be more easily spent from the bobbin duringthe weaving operation, requires less replacement of filled bobbinsduring the-weaving operation and greatly reduces wastage 'due "to thegreatly reduced requirement 'of i eplafienrent of spent bobbins duringthe weaving.

Referring more particularly to thedrawings wherein like characters ofreference designate like parts throughout the several views, theinvention -relates more particularlyto the provision of anattachmentwhich may be readily-applied .to: a conventional.'m-ulesgspinni-ng' machine embodying a-carryiage lshaving. a.plurality'of spindles 2 thereon: for supportingv the bobbin 3. I'hespindles 2 are =supp rted-for rotation inthe conventional .inanner. .The-carria ge 'l is-.provided ;with=- wheels 4 whichnengage 'suitableguiderails for longitudinal movement 'towardand away from supportingemeans 6 omwhich spools V are mounted, The spools 1 have the-yarn twhichis to be spun, wound thereon.

The yarnBisada ted tobe drawnthrough suit- -able rollers-i 9 and -.l 0"and the severalstrands of warn" are. 4 initially connected to; A the;spindles-2 adjacent the heads of the bobbins. This' isaconventionalarrangement. V w I, V v

#Suitable -;guide wi-res,-'-such was the. -guide.faller wire lleand thetension faller wire-P12 =are-pro- =vided for= controlling the positionofthewindings -05 thestrands :o1?- yarn-=1-3 on the bobbins 3 and, also,for maintaining the desired tension==on--.the *strands duringthewinding.

The guide faller wire and the tension-'iallerwire tare carried1by'suitable hook-likes-upportingarms =1 Land-1 5 respectiveiy mounted onandsecured to shafts I 6 and I1. Thasaid-shafts aremotatably amountedin? suitable bearings suchas the :bearings l 8.-=and l97carriedbythe'respective supports ZUHa-nd: '2 I which are, in;:turnsecured; to t;he carriage laas-illustratedlin- Fig. I. The-shaft-.l'6, towhich the-arm44 carrying.thejguide -faller wire -I l- :isvattached; and the shaft :l 1; towwhich the arm .I 5 carrying thetension--i a ,ller wire. is attaehed -are rotated to raisei andlowerflthe s aid g-ui'de and tension faller. wires in=the conventionalmanner and by conventional ."r'means-not shown. The carriage l isimoved.forwardly and rr ea rwardly by variable :speedcontrols not showmandLin-the conventional manner. The tensionapplied to thetension faller;wire l 2, following; the conventionalpractice isthrough theuse ofsuitable weights22.

.' The above-described. mechanism issofgthe conventional typeknownrinthe art and-.for thisirea- -son various-details of x:ons truction- .'arenot :shown. A- :thoroughdescription. otthe-v machine may. be'ie nd u lica i -9 fali ed Mules b Johnson & 3Bassett incorporated,=Wor'cester, lvlassachusetts which description .is forthei'inachin'e-etowhich. .tlieYip'rjesntinvention is. applied.;and;the.above,is.-theriore p'art. .of the disclosure relieduponinthis'g specification.

The, attachmentivhich.enibodieslthe' e se'fice'bf .the presentinveiitidn,.a shownlih Fig.1, Iconiprises a lever 23 which is attachedto the shaft 11 by a suitable set screw or the like 24. The

lever 23 is provided with a pin 25 which is slidably supported in a slot26 formed adjacent the 5 upper end of the arm which is designated as awhole by the numeral 21. The said arm 2'! is comprised of an upperportion 28 in which the slot 26 is formed and which is slidably mountedin a guide section 29. The lower end of the pornon 28"isaprovidedwitha'slot 30 through which a' suitable'bolt-fl carriedby the guidesection 29 extends for securing the upper portion 28 in flfdjustedposition. The section 29 has a lower -portio n.32- rigidly securedthereto. The portion "32"is'provided adjacent its lower end with aforward'lyextending part 33 to which a latch roller 34 is pivotallyconnected.

Thearni'Zl' has alever 35 secured thereto by :means of a bolt or thelike 36. The lever 35 is 20 provided with a projection 31 adjacent theforwardend thereof to whichone end of a coil spring 'ionthel like I38.isattached. The upper end of the eoujspnngiaa -is detachably secured-to apin 39 carrie'dlby the lever '33.. The tension of the spring 25 38. may.be varied by loosening the bolt 36 and by .rais'in'gor loweringthe pincarrying end of the Lleverf35. The bolt 36 is then tightened .tosecure.theleverinadjusted position. The upper portion 28 is adjustablerelative .to the guidesection p -.29.to permit ease inithe.initial'setting up ofthe device, and to enable .the .proper associationtli'eiof'withLthe machine with which it. is-to be used-Lifter havingonce been properly installed, no.-furtherfadjustment is required. Thelower r135 portion'32 of the'arm '2! lies within a l -16 81 1 .40formed. in the guide member secured t'o the ibaselof the Icarriagel ibyasuitable bolt .or the "like 42. A. bracket .43 ,'also secured .to thebase of the carriage lih'as. a lever 44 pivotally secured ,4 -theretoasat45. jThelever' 44 .is'provided with 45 teamed 'of'theflever- '44. "Theroller 46 engages aig uide' track"'49 having 'aiorward portion 50secured to thfioor by screws or the like 5|. "The portion 50 .is joinedwith an inclined section '52 which irrturn-joins with a raised section53 held 50 ins'aidraisedpositionby anysuitable means suchf'astl'i'elblock 54.

A'spring 5651s secured to the lever 44 and to the forwardly extendingportion 33 of the lower portion 32 to normally urge the roller 34 in a55 "direction towardithe adjacent end of the lever 44. ""The function ofthedevice is substantially as follows: In following'the conventionalpractice, atithe completion of each twisting operation the direction ofrotation of the bobbinsis reversed "and the -guide faller wire andthetension faller fwire functionvto take up the slack in the yarn duetoithis reversed movement. This function results from'the lowering ofthe guide faller'wire 'and'the'r'aising of the tension faller wire from651their positions such as shown in Fig. I to the"positions"diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. V. 'Itfisltoflbe'notedthatthe rotationof the shafts Band I Ito bring about this result causesthe lever-.23 to be lowered with the result that the .70 arm zi willsimultaneously be moved in a downwardfldirection in'the slot'40. At thecompletion bfithe reversed movement of the bobbins, the "carriage lstarts to move inwardly along the guide rails 5. Asthe carriage movesinwardly,

the latch roller-s4 which is now moved an amount suflicient to bepositioned below the forward end of the lever 44 will move inwardly bythe pull of coil spring 56 to a position beneath said end 44, asillustrated in Fig. II. As the carriage moves inwardly, the roller 46will move upwardly of the inclined portion 52 and as it progressesfurther upwardly of the inclined portion will cause the lever 44 to rockon its pivot 45 and will cause the forward end thereof to depress thelatch portion 34 and in this manner cause the arm 21 to be moveddownwardly. This downward movement causes the tension on the spring 38to be increased progressively as the roller 46 moves upwardly of theinclined portion 52 and is held at a given tension as the roller 46moves rearwardly of the raised section 53. At a predetermined pointalong said raised section 53, th re is provided an abutment member 55adapted to engage the side surface of the latch member 34 and, as thecarriage l progresses inwardly, cause said end to be pushed forwardlyfrom beneath the lever 44 thereby relieving the increased tensiondirected to the coil spring 38.

The tension of the coil spring 38 through its connection with the lever23 causes increased tension to be directed to the tension wire I2 andthereby causes the said tension wire to draw the strands I3 more tightlywhile the yarn is being wound onto the bobbin as the said carriage ismovedin an inward direction.

The slot 26 in the upper end of the arm 27 is to permit the lever 23 tomove in an upward direction when tension pull on the tension faller wireincreases during the winding operation and this increased tension pullis resiliently resisted by the coil spring 38 and this function directsadded tension on the yarn as it is being wound on the bobbins therebyresulting in a tighter wind.

It is particularl pointed out that the initial tension is directed tothe tension faller wire through the releasing of the Weights 22 in theconventional manner. The increased tension introduced by the coil spring38 and its associated mechanism takes effect only after the backing oiloperation. This is due to the fact that the roller 46 is on the lowersection 50 throughout the initial backing oil operation and thencestarts to direct increased tension on the spring 38 as the roller movesupwardly of the inclined portion 52 in proportion to said incline and asthe carriage moves further inwardly and retains a given amount oftension on said spring 38 throughout the raised portion 53 until a pointis reached wherein the abutment member will engage the latch end 34 andcause said end to become disengaged from beneath the lever 44 therebyrelieving the tension pull on the spring 38. This increased tension pullcauses the yarn to be held more taut as the carriage moves inwardly andduring the interval throughout which the twisted yarn is being woundonto the bobbins. At the completion of this winding and as the carriagereaches a predetermined location inwardly, this tension is relieved andthe tension faller wire and guide faller wire return t their normalfunction with the subsequent operations being in the conventionalmanner.

At the completion of this winding operation and when the bobbins arecompletely filled, the doffing operation is performed in the usualmanner. Prior to dofilng, the guide faller wire is manually operated inthe conventional manner to produce a few windings of the yarn on thespindles below the base of the bobbins. At the completion of thisoperation, the guide ialler wire is down and out of the way but thetension faller wire is in a raised position. In order to doff, thistension faller wire must be lowered out of the way. This isaccomplished, with the construction illustrated in Fig. I, by detachingthe upper end of the tension spring 38 from the pin 39. This completelyremoves the function of the spring and permits the tension ialler wireto be manually lowered and locked in this position in the conventionalmanner.

After the filled bobbins have been removed and fresh bobbins placed onthe spindles, the tension faller wire and guide faller wire are moved totheir operative positions simultaneous to rotary movement being impartedto the bob bins. This operation starts the unwindings at the base of thebobbins in the conventional manner. The upper end of the spring 38 isagain latched with the pin 39 and the entire spinning operation is againrepeated.

It is to be understood that the device embodying the invention functionsevery time the carriage is moved inwardly and throughout the completewinding operation and functions automatically throughout the spinningoperation.

In Figs. III and IV there is illustrated a modified construction of arm2? whereby instead of detaching the upper end of the tension spring 33from the pin 39, as shown in Fig. I, the upper section of the arm 28',in this instance, is provided with a longitudinal slot 5? in which aplate 53 is slidably supported by the pivot bolts, pins or the like 59and 66. The lever 23, in this instance, is pivotally connected to theplate 58 by the pivot bolt or the like 53 and is provided with anintermediate shouldered portion 66 which functions as stop means forlimiting the inward movement of a lever 6i which is in turn pivotallyconnected, adjacent its lower end, to the plate 58 by the pivot bolt orthe like 69. In this instance, the pin 52, simulating the pin 39 and towhich the upper end of the coil spring 38' is attached. is carried bythe lever '51. The upper portion 23 of the arm 27', in this instance, isprovided with a stop member 63 which is adapted to limit the outward anddownward swing of the lever E I as shown by the dash lines in Fig. III.

With the above construction it will be seen that, when the lever 5| isin a raised position against the stop means '54, the tension pull of thecoil spring 38 will be disposed on the side of the pivot 60 towards thestop means 64 and simultaneous to its function for increasing thetension on the tension faller wire will retain the lever 6| in saidraised position. The tension pull of the coil spring 38', in order todoff, may be relieved by merely pulling the lever 6| forwardly anddownwardly to a position illustrated by the dash lines in Fig. III.

At the completion of dofiing and in order to bring the coil spring 38again into play, all that is required is that the lever 6| be raised andpushed rearwardly to the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. IIIwhereby the pull of the spring 38 will be directed to the lever 23'through the link plate 58 due to its free sliding movementlongitudinally of the slot 51. The function of this device from here onis substantially the same as with the arrangement shown in Fig. I anddescribed above.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple, efllcient,and economical means have been provided for accomplishing all theobjects and advantages of the invention.

device comprising a, lever-attached :to' the tension faller wire shaft.an arm connected with said lever having a latch portionadjacenttheilower end thereof, spring means connected with said leverand arm, a second leverlpivotally connected with the carriage. havingitsfreeend portion associated with the latch portion of the arm,-saidpivoted leveixhavingla guide roller ithereon, a guide rail 0n whichitheguiderolleris adapted to be'moved, said guide rail having arelativelylow forward portion, an intermediate inclined portion and a raisedlrearportion and means associated with said guide rail-for disenga'ging'thelatch member from the lever when the carriage is moved inwardly to apredetermined point.

2. An attachment adapted to tie-associated with the tension fallerwiresupporting:shattand carriage of a mule spinning machine, said devicecomprising a lever attached to the tension taller wire shaft, an armconnected withsaid leverhav- 'ing a latch portion adjacentthe lower endtherewith the leverwhen the carriage is moved inwardly vto apredeterminedpoint and spring means connected adjacent one of its endsto the lever attached to ,the'tension faller wire shaft and adjacent itsopposed end to the .arm.

3. An attachment adapted to be associated with the supporting shaft ofthe tensionfaller wire and carriage of a mule spinning machine, saiddevice compris-ing'a lever attachedto the-tension faller wire shaftpanarm pivotally connected with said lever, spring means operablyconnecting said lever withsaid arm, a second lever pivotally connectedwith the carriage having-its forward end associated with the arm, spring'means for retaining said associated-relation of'said'second lever andarm and means for moving said second 1 lever on its pivot-and forsimultaneously moving the arm downwardly .as the carriagemoves-inwardly.

4.- An a-ttachmentadapted tol-be associated-with the supportingshaft-ofthe tension faller wire and carriage of a mule spinning machine; saiddevice comprising aleverattached-toithe tension faller wire shaft, anarmpivotally connected-with said lever, springmeansoperably connectingsaid lever with said arm, a second lever pivotally-connected with thecarriage having its forwardend associated with the arm,-spring means forretaining said associated relation of said secondlever and arm, meansfor moving; said second lever on its pivot and for simultaneously movingthe arm Y downwardly as the carriage moves inwardly and means fordisassociating said arm with the forward end of the secondlever when thecarriage is moved inwardly a predetermined-amount.

5.= An attachment adapted .to beassociated-with the tension faller wiresupporting shaft and acarriage of a mule spinning machine, said devicecomprising a lever attached" to the-tension faller. wire .shaft, .an'armhaving a longitudinalslot adjacent the upper end thereof,;meansforvoperably'concarriage moves inwardly.

necting said slotted end with the lever, an adjustable member connectedwith saidarmaintermediate the ends thereof, resilientmeansoperablyconnected with said adjustable member adjacent one end ofsaid means andbeing operably associated with the lever adjacent itsopposedend, said arm having a forwardly extending portion adjacent-thelower end thereof, a second lever pivotally connected with the carriageand having theiforward-end associated with the rearwardly ing saidsecond lever a controlled amount as-the 6. :In a device of the-characterdescribed for association with the supporting shaft of the tensionfaller Wire and carriage of a mule spinning machine, saiddevice-comprising a lever secured .to the supporting shaft, an armhaving a longiand. spring means connected with said= -second lever withsaidarm and being adapted .to have its tensionyaried by movement of saidsecond: lever.

7.In a device of the character described for association with thesupporting shaft ofthetension faller wire and carriage of amule-spinning machine, said device comprising a lever secured to thesupporting shaft, an arm having a longitudinal slot therein, meansextending within said slot for pivotally and slidably connecting saidlever with said arm, a member carriedby said means extending within saidslot having apivot :portion slidably supported in saidslot, a secondlever pivotally connected with said latter .pivot and spring meansconnected with said second lever'with said arm andbeing adapted to have.its tension varied by movement of said second-lever,

saidarm having a latch portion adjacent the lower end thereof, a thirdlever pivotally/connected with the carriage and having a portion adaptedto be engaged by said latch means'of' the arm and means'for moving saidthird lever about its pivot controlled amounts'as the carriage'movesinwardly.

8. In a device of thecharacter described-for association with thesupporting shaft of the tension faller Wire and carriage of a mulespinning machine,said device comprising a lever secured tothe supportingshaft, an arm embodying a'portion-having a longitudinal slot therein,means connected with said lever having a portion-extending within thelongitudinalslot for pivotally landslidably connecting said lever withsaidarm,

said arm having a latch portion adjacent-the lowerend thereof, a secondlever pivotallyisupported beneath the carriage having-an endpoitionadapted to .latch with said latch portionqof :the arm and spring meanssupported by said arm operatively associated with the means extendingwithin-and movablelongitudinally of the slotand in turn functionallyassociated with the lever mounted-on the supporting shaft 'adapted'tohave its tension varied by movement of the second lever beneath thecarriage when said second lever is in latched relation with thelatch'portion offzthe arm.

9.-In a device of. thecharacter described-for association with thesupportingshaft-of the .tension faller wire and carriage ,ofa:mule-spinning machine, said device comprising a-leverrsecured to:thesupporting shaft, anarmembodying aportion having a longitudinal slottherein, means connected with said lever having a portion extendingwithin the longitudinal slot for pivotally and slidably connecting saidlever with said arm, said arm having a, latch portion adjacent the lowerend thereof, a second lever pivotally supported beneath the carriagehaving an end portion adapted to latch with said latch portion of thearm, spring means supported by said arm operatively associated with themeans extending within and movable longitudinally of the slot and inturn functionally associated with the lever mounted on the supportingshaft adapted to have its tension varied by movement of the second leverbeneath the carriage when said second lever is in latched relation withthe latch portion of the arm and a second springmember in connectedrelation with the arm and adapted to normally urge the latch portion ofsaid arm in a direction toward the end of the second lever member withwhich said portion is adapted to be latched.

10. In a device of the character described for association with thesupporting shaft of the tension faller wire and carriage of a mulespinning machine, said device comprising a lever secured to thesupporting shaft, a second lever pivotally supported beneath thecarriage, an arm embodying at least two portions adjustable relative toeach other in a direction longitudinally of said arm, one of saidportions being pivotally con nected with the lever carried by thesupporting shaft and the other of said portions having a latch memberadjacent the lower end thereof adapted to be latched with the adjacentend of the second lever and resilient means supported for resilientlybiasing the longitudinal movement of one of said portions of the armrelative to the other and being adapted to have its tension varied bymovement of the second lever when the end thereof is in latched relationwith the latch member.

11. In a device of the character described for association with thesupporting shaft of the tension faller wire and carriage of a mulespinning machine, said device comprising a lever secured to thesupporting shaft, a second lever pivotally supported beneath thecarriage, an arm embodying at least two portions adjustable relative toeach other in a direction longitudinally of said arm, one of saidportions being pivotally connected with the lever carried by thesupporting shaft and the other of said portions having a latch memberadjacent the lower end thereof adapted to be latched with the adjacentend of the second lever, resilient means supported for resilientlybiasing the longitudinal movement of one of said portions of the armrelative to the other and being adapted to have its tension varied bymovement of the second lever when the end thereof is in latched relationwith the latch member and means for progressively causing said secondlever to be tilted a controlled amount about its pivotal connection asthe carriage moves inwardly thereby causing the tension of saidresilient means to be progressively varied in accordance with thetiltingof the second lever.

12. In a device of the character described for association with thesupporting shaft of the tension faller wire and carriage of a mulespinning machine, said device comprising a lever secured to thesupporting shaft, a second lever pivotally supported beneath thecarriage, an arm embodying at least two portions adjustable relative toeach other in a direction longitudinally of said arm, one of saidportions being pivotally connected with the lever carried by thesupporting shaft and the other of said portions having a latch memberadjacent the lower end thereof adapted to be latched with the adjacentend of the second lever, resilient means supported for resilientlybiasing the longitudinal movement of one of said portions of the armrelative to the other and being adapted to have its tension varied bymovement of the second lever when the end thereof is in latched relationwith the latch member and means for normally urging the latch membertoward the adjacent end of the second lever.

ROBERT A. GARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 808 Smith June 27, 1838 225,984Hendry Mar. 30, 1880

